Ian Sinclair is recognized as one of Africa's foremost field birders. He is the most published author on the birds of Africa and its adjacent islands and has written over 20 bird books, best known of which are Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, Birds of Africa south of the Sahara and Complete Photographic Field Guide to Birds of Southern Africa. Olivier Langrand was born and educated in France, and studied and worked in South Africa, Madagascar and Gabon. He has worked with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and for Conservation International, and travelled extensively throughout the south western Indian Ocean islands. Since 2012 he has been working for Island Conservation, an organization whose mission is to prevent extinctions of species on islands.